Wood processing giant
The importance of sawmilling to the national economy was seen in the cash flows and employment. This has been most visible in the structure of Finnish exports. Forest industry as a whole earned a incredible 85% of all export revenue in the first half of the 1900s. By the end of the Century this was reduced to about 30%, which is still a very respectable share.
The industrialization and modernization process led by the forest industries resulted in visible results in a relatively short time: Finland became one of the wealthiest countries in Europe and even in the world during the second half of the century. Sawmilling was a major front runner and contributor in this process.
Wellfare for all
The advancement and requirements of the Finnish forest industry had a spin off effects in other areas too. Growing industrial towns needed goods and services. Industries benefiting from the forest industry growth ranged from transportation, sea freight, education, research & development and the rest of the infrastructure needed to develop. A great deal of improvements and offerings by Finnish metal, engineering and technology industries, as well as chemical industry, have got the initial impulse from the needs of the forest industries
Finland had been still in the early 1800s “the beggar of Europe”, one of the poorest countries of the whole continent. Even in the early 1900s Finland was in the poorer half of Europe. However, Finland became one of the wealthiest countries in Europe and even in the world during the second half of the century. Sawmilling was a major front runner and contributor in this process.
Big players from the global perspective too
Finnish sawmilling companies were big players by any standards. Finnish state had acquired major shareholding from previous Norwegian owners in 1918 in Gutzeit company, which together with Enso and Tornator was Scandinavia’s leading producer of timber. Their production at a couple of major sawmills equalled the production of a few hundred small sawmills. Other heavyweight companies were Kemi, Uleå and Veitsiluoto in the north, Rosenlew and Ahlström in Pori on the west coast, and Hackman, Kymi and Kaukas in the east.
From this group, Kymi was the only one to start paper production. At Kymi their sawmills were already at this stage a part of integrated raw material procurement, most other main players followed soon along this integration path. Nevertheless, for instance Rauma-Repola remained in the 1950s as primarily a sawmiller – shipyards and such followed, but their role was enhanced much later.
The emphasis in bigger forest products companies was shifting from sawmilling to pulp and paper, some companies diversified to altogether different industries.
Independent sawmills and forest giants
Sawmilling never returned to be the key industry during the 1990s’ merger and acquisition era. The three big forest giants – StoraEnso, UPM and Metsäliito Group – absorbed several companies under their wings and they all have had a rather sizable sawn timber industry, but the emphasis in those companies has been in the production of various paperbased products, pulp and bio products.
Talks about the demise of sawmilling industry have been premature. The industry has gone through similar turmoils in the 1850s, 1910s and several times after that. The 1927 production record, which was thought to last forever, has been surpassed several times and right now Finnish sawmilling is approaching yet another all time high in the production volume. In addition to big forest giants there is a strong, independent sawmill industry. Independent sawmills produce approximately a half of the Finnish sawn timber.
